Magnesium Chloride (or Mag as we call it) has been commonly
used as a de-icing and anti-icing agent for roads and parking lots for over 8
years.Mag is sold commercially by
several wholesale dealers across the US snow belt.It is an odorless, not quite clear liquid solution with a
viscosity resembling whole milk.Different
suppliers blend in various anti-corrosion or temperature lowering additives to
achieve the exact end in mind.

Mag can be sprayed directly on snow or ice as a snow/ice
melt solution with very low corrosion and environmentally friendly enough to not
require any warning labels.It can
be used as a wetting agent for dry material such as sand or calcium chloride
pellets.It’s most common use,
however, is as an anti-icing, pre-storm treatment.That is where its best use for the snowplow contractor is, and what we
shall detail here.

We got started in anti-icing when our largest snowplowing
customer came to us asked if we could do something to cut back on the build up
of hard pack and ice in the high traffic areas of their lot.(the customer was the largest medical center in the area)Accidents, both auto and pedestrian and the potential lawsuits were the
motivation.We were doing a good
job plowing with bare blade edges on nice, smooth asphalt surface, so we could
not change the plowing method easily.We
experimented with calcium chloride mixed with sodium chloride (salt) put down
with a lawn spreader a day before a predicted storm.The results were an improvement but still not what we hoped for.We attended the Western Snow and Ice conference sponsored bythe American Public Works Association, on another business venture.There, wemet the concept of
liquid ice prevention and Mag for the first time.There are several liquid ice prevention solutions on the market, but the
most cost effective was the Mag.We
did some extra research via a friend in the Colorado Dept. of Transportation. (CDOT)We also soaked up all their technical white papers, as well as the
vendor’s literature.It became
obvious that Mag was a good option.

To convince ourselves, we bought a 5 gallon bucket of the
same solution that CDOT was using.We
got a hand sprayer and put it on a section of the medical center’s parking lot
the night before a storm.We put it
on at the coverage the vendor told us would work.The results were good, better in fact than the calcium chloride/salt we
had used, but still not quite what we were looking for.Another test was set up but with a 50% higher concentration applied.That test was a complete success.The
snow when plowed came up completely, leaving only black, clean pavement behind.No little skiff of snow left at all.(this was a warm fall storm of 4 inches with air temp just above freezing
as we plowed)Even if the area is
driven on before plowing, it does not pack into the surface and become ice.The Mag acts like a “Teflon” coating to keep the snow from sticking,
packing hard, and becoming ice.It
is very effective in high traffic areas or shady spots.It is not for use on dirt roads, but is safe for asphalt, concrete, or
recycled asphalt. (concrete must be over a year old for any de-icer use)

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We then started to look at the business case.We had a good truck that would hold the tank, so we needed a tank and
pump system with spray nozzles.We
needed a yard tank to hold several fills of the truck.We needed a method to get the Mag out of the yard tank and into the truck
tank. We figured out our cost of the solution to do the medical center at the
increased concentration, based on the square footage of the lot and access.There had to be enough markup to make it worthwhile, but keep the cost
down so the customer would go for it.Our
price came up just a little less than the cost of plowing the same area, based
on between $.55 and $.70 per gallon delivered.Spray density was set at about 1 gallon for 200 square feet, and charges
based on $5 per 1000 square feet. We sold it to 2 major customers on a trial
basis, so a business was born.The
profitability comes in that you can schedule the spray jobs several days before
a storm at low traffic times.Mag
has an on–the-ground life of at least 2 weeks, assuming no real precipitation.It also works well down to –10 F.

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There are several things we would do differently to start
with.We would order the truck
mount system from someone who has experience with Mag.(see dealer list at the end)We would start with “rain drop” type spray nozzles or else one of the
new monster nozzles called a boom-buster.The first set of nozzles was too prone to misting, and we lost a lot of
solution in a little breeze.Our
yard tank is 1500 gallons, which is enough for half to 2/3 of the season.Adjust the size of yard tank according to solution availability and
number of customers.We usually get
our solution delivered the same week we order.We recommend that the truck tank be an oval design with as low a profile
as possible.Mag weighs 11 lbs. per
gallon, so when you get 120 gallons sloshing around, it is very noticeable and
can be dangerous if your center of gravity is too high.We also found that using a small electric pump to fill the truck tank is
easier than trying to use the truck mounted pump.Plan on putting a screen type filter on the input side of your loading
pump to protect it and get only clean solution into the truck.Spend the money for a good mini light bar.You will likely be working at night and you need to be seen.The truck should match the tank. Use a ¾ ton full size truck for 200
gallon tank.Use a 1 ton for a 350
gallon tank.Our spray truck is
also our largest plow truck.Do not
exceed the GVWR of your truck with the combo of the full tank and the
plow. Add extra backup lights and the rig is set.

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One last thought.A
good supplier will make you or break you.His
ability to deliver in a timely fashion can be the key to your survival.If you have a local municipality that uses Mag, find out who the supplier
is.We piggy-backed our promotion
on the success ofColorado DOT in our area
saying we use the same solution.We
also can get a small load when they come to the area to bring CDOT a large load.Our customers like the effectiveness of Mag, and we continue to pick up a
customer or two each year we are in business without aggressive promotion.